


We are drawn to what we lack.

by alwaysanoriginal



Category: Les Misérables (2012), Les Misérables - All Media Types, Les Misérables - Victor Hugo
Genre: M/M, does that count as a tag how do I work this thing, hello random person I really hope you like this, i just have a lot of feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-30
Updated: 2013-03-30
Packaged: 2017-12-06 23:00:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 598
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/741165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alwaysanoriginal/pseuds/alwaysanoriginal
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>He is Enjolras, and he is Grantaire.</i>
  <br/>
  <i>He is light, and he is dark.</i>
</p><p> </p><p>---<br/>A sort of E x R character study.<br/>Written because I love these boys individually, and I love them even more together. And because they fascinate me.</p><p>Picture this as set in canon, or picture it as set in your AU of choice. Read it however you wish.<br/>I left it mildly ambiguous on purpose, because the point is this is mostly how I see the core of E x R overall... no matter what world you set them in.</p>
            </blockquote>





	We are drawn to what we lack.

He is light, and he is is dark.

He is inspiration and leadership, the dreams and hopes of an oppressed people personified.  
He is cynicism and feigned indifference, the doubts and worries of a people expressed in brutal honesty.

He is a determined revolutionary moving towards a better tomorrow,  
and he is a self-proclaimed skeptic in the face of people's futile aspirations.

Each is single-mindedly devoted: one to belief in his cause, and one to belief in the other.

He is Enjolras, and he is Grantaire, and they are two sides of the same coin.

*

He is defined by many as love for his country and its people, but he is more.  
He is defined by many as love for pessimism and self-destruction, but he is more.

He is seen only on the surface.

He is marble with hidden cracks, for most do not consider that the unbreakable would need repair.  
He is decaying wood with hidden shine, for most do not consider that the broken would have secret beauty.

He is a desire to see right be victor over wrong, no matter the cost to himself.  
He is a deep loathing for who he is, yet love for those he cares about. 

He is charismatic but can be terrible.  
He is noncompliant but can be charming.

He is lonely.

*

He carries the burden of leading his friends into a necessary fight, though he knows they may not win or witness the changes their sacrifices bring.  
He carries the weight of one who sees and knows too much but can change little, wise enough to understand the deadly costs of a seemingly pointless fight.

He wishes the inevitable consequences could be avoided.

But he leads anyway.  
And he follows anyway.  
Because the cause is worth it.  
Because _he_ is worth it.

He is the brightness of a window cutting through shadows and darkness in a room, light and color bursting in the midst of shades of grey.  
He is smoke exhaled into the air curling without rhyme or reason, altered only by the sunlight allowed to streak through it.

He sees a path lit by possibility, while he sees a path hazed by doubt.

So he is loud.

*

He is the eloquent speaker of what everyone wants to say, and he is the defiant voice for what most don't want to hear.

He speaks.  
He mocks.  
He glares.  
He smirks.

He is serious.  
He is wild.

He is sober so that he may concentrate.  
He is drunk so that he will not think.

He is Apollo, and he is Dionysus; so he is order, and he is chaos.

So he is _challenging._

Because he is Enjolras, and he is Grantaire, and they are light and dark.

He is the light of passionate hope, brightened and strengthened by the confrontation brought on by the dark.  
He is the darkness of skepticism in the shadows of optimism, occasionally touched by the powerful rays of the light.

He is necessary,  
for the light is not quite as bright without the darkness to remind it of its shine, and the darkness has no purpose if there is no opposite for it to shadow.

They are intertwined.  
They cannot be separated.

They are Enjolras and Grantaire,  
E and R,  
blonde and black,  
light and dark,  
a vowel and a consonant...  
And it is when they stand together that they are their most strong.

*

_It is said that behind every cynic is a disappointed idealist._  
 _Sometimes, that same cynic can be found behind a passionate revolutionary, in the dark shadows cast by his light._  


**Author's Note:**

> The last two sentences are the first thing I wrote, and kind of kickstarted this whole thing... so though they don't fit in the flow of the story, I felt I had to put them in there.
> 
> The title is indeed a quote from Mr. Victor Hugo himself.
> 
> ~
> 
> Thank you for reading! (:  
> I've never posted anything on AO3 before, so this is a big step for me. I definitely appreciate anyone who's stopping by.
> 
> As a disclaimer, I have yet to read the brick (though I intend to in the future!), so I apologize if you feel as if I've done these characters a disservice in any way. This is merely my interpretation of them from pieces I've read of the brick here and there and from fanfics I love, as well as a couple of my own floating thoughts.
> 
> Thanks again! All comments welcomed, though please try to be kind <3
> 
> -Charlotte


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